Coronavirus

Help for residents

• We are writing to 11,000 residents in our District who could be vulnerable and struggling in silence, with a letter offering advice and links to support. If you receive one of these letters, please do be assured it is from us. 
• We are following up these letters with calls from our officers, to check in with these residents and ensure they are getting the help they need and answers to any worries or concerns they may have. As of 1st May, more than 3,250 of these calls have been made.
• We’ve redeployed 45 colleagues to help make these calls, with six more due to train. Our Development and Economic Cultural Services, Democratic Services, Environment and Public Protection, Corporate Community Services and Housing and Property teams are all giving up time to help, in addition to their daily workload as a priority. 
• All tenants in Council properties, including those in Lafford Homes properties, have also been written to with information and details of the support available at this time, should it be needed. 
• In addition, 2,000 of these tenants have had follow-up calls and/or visits from our housing teams (adhering to our strict guidelines on contact) to make sure they are coping during Coronavirus. 
• Service areas such as our customer services and housing support teams are operating and answering queries. Residents can make contact with the Council by email or on 01529 414155. Please only call if it is absolutely essential. For more information, see our residents page.
• While our reception and front-facing contact centre at our Council offices in Sleaford are closed, there are emergency procedures in place to ensure vulnerable people can get help.
• We’re continuing to work closely with partners to identify and provide urgent help to the most vulnerable in our communities.
• Additional measures are currently in force to accommodate any person found to be rough sleeping or those without any accommodation available to them at this time. If you require emergency assistance, please contact the Housing Options Team on 01529 414155 Monday-Friday, by email to housingoptions@n-kesteven.gov.uk or call 01529 308308 out of hours.
  
• We are working with our housing tenants to ensure rent can easily be paid via direct debit or by phone. If you’re a housing tenant with us and have concerns about struggling to pay your rent, please call your housing officer via our main Council phone number who can discuss the options available to you.
• Together with our contractors we are ensuring emergency repairs requested by our tenants, for example hot water failure or a similar risk to health, are prioritised. In the event that repairs like these are needed, our contractors will discuss individual circumstances with the tenants so repairs can be carried out in the safest way possible for all. Similarly, we are ensuring that capital works to Council properties which are essential to health and safety of our tenants are a priority at this time.
• It is essential that we continue to carry out gas safety checks for our housing tenants. Our contractor will contact tenants to make an appointment and discuss how this can be done with individual circumstances in mind during Coronavirus.

Communities and wellbeing

• Working with Lincolnshire County Council, Wellbeing Lincs and the Lincolnshire Resilience Forum, we are helping provide the vital link between community groups, charities and parish councils with residents who need community help. To request community help see the Lincolnshire County Council website or call 01522 782189.
• There are currently 71 community groups in our District that have been redeployed or newly established to support the Coronavirus effort. Together with the Lincolnshire Resilience Forum we are working to validate them, helping complete all the necessary checks and identifying how best they can be supported in their work.
• As of 1st May more than 3,180 people have been assisted through Wellbeing Lincs and linked to the appropriate support, including community efforts in North Kesteven. Requests for help include access to household supplies and regular prescriptions. 
• People who have certain medical conditions are clinically vulnerable to coronavirus. An extremely vulnerable person or their family/carer can request support online, such as getting essential supplies like food. To request support for a clinically vulnerable person visit Gov.uk - Get coronavirus support as a clinically extremely vulnerable person.

Council Tax support 

• The Government has announced funding available to councils to help provide support to residents experiencing hardship. You can find out more about this on our recent Council Tax update document.
• Residents can also check whether they are entitled to any discounts on our Council Tax webpages.

Whilst we appreciate this is a difficult time, the Council still needs funds in order to provide the essential services that it provides to support its residents. However, if you are unable to pay your Council Tax during this time, you can consider:

• Making a claim for Council Tax Support – this is means-tested based upon the income you receive. Details of this and how to claim can be found on our Council Tax webpages.
• Delay some of your payments. If you normally pay over ten months, you could opt to move your two free months to the start, rather than the end of the year. Or you could move some of your payments to later in the year. Email the Council Tax service on counciltax@lincoln.gov.uk (Please be sure to include your name, address and account number) or call us on 01529 414155 to discuss the options available to you. Please be patient with us at this time, as we are experiencing higher levels of calls because of increased demand on services at this time.

Assistance for businesses

• Our officers are deciphering emerging Government advice, grants and schemes to shape and deliver a range of guidance and support mechanisms for businesses. You can find out more about these and contact the team directly from the BusinessNK website.
• A number of businesses in the District are eligible for a Small Business Grant, or a Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant from Government. So far, we’ve distributed more than £17.3 million in these grants to almost 1,550 businesses. There is more information on this on our Apply for a Business Grant webpage.

Environmental health 

• We’re directly advising pubs, cafes, restaurants and more, which are now unable to trade normally, on how they can continue their livelihoods as a delivery or takeaway instead. As part of this work, we’re also helping ensure they meet food regulations in order to protect themselves and the public. See our Business webpages.

Key service updates

• At this current time, there are no immediate impacts on the way in which we collect and empty your bins and how that waste and recycling is handled. There’s more on our waste webpages. 
• Where services have been temporarily suspended, we have relocated the teams that would ordinarily carry out this work to support other essential services during this difficult time.
• Households where residents are self-isolating are being asked to follow the below advice when disposing of household waste. In line with the advice from Public Health England, personal waste (such as used tissues) and disposable cleaning cloths should be:
  
  • disposed of securely within disposable rubbish bags.
  • placed into another bag, tied securely and kept separate from other waste.
  • put aside for at least 72 hours before being put in your black bin.
  Other household waste can be disposed of as normal. It is extremely important that tissues are NOT put in recycling bins.